Peace Officer's Memorial

Officer Mark A. White was remembered as a dedicated officer with a mischievous grin and compassionate manner during funeral services attended by about 2,000 mourners, including 1,500 uniformed law enforcement officers from throughout California.

White died February 10, 1995, when Shawn Brackin, a 25-year-old Roseville resident intending to commit suicide, walked into the Roseville Police Department and pulled a gun on the counter clerk. White, out of uniform and ready to leave for the day, was caught in the confused melee that resulted. He was shot by a fellow officer who didn't recognize him until after he fell with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Officer Mark A. White in a ceremony at St. Isadore's Church in Yuba City, White, 30, was eulogized by Roseville Police Chief Thomas Simms as an officer who loved his job so much his own wife called him “Mr. Roseville”.

"He just went out and did his job," remarked Simms, who also read condolences sent by President Clinton to White's pregnant widow, Elizabeth, and 4-year-old son Matthew.

In an impressive tribute to a fallen comrade, hundreds of uniformed officers lined up in the parking lot and the street in front of St. Isidore's and stood at attention for more than an hour before the services began.

Before joining the Roseville Police Department nearly three years earlier, White worked for five years as a deputy for the Sutter County Sheriff's Department.

The funeral procession to Marysville, where White was buried, stretched for miles through the streets of Yuba City. About 400 patrol vehicles and motorcycles were part of the procession to Sierra View Memorial Park. At the cemetery, a 21-gun salute was fired, followed by a flyover by law enforcement agency helicopters.

The Roseville Police Officer's Association has established a scholarship fund in Mark White's memory. Contributions to the scholarship fund may be mailed to the Roseville Police Officers' Association, 1051 Junction Blvd., Roseville, CA 95678.